Not Again

"Then they came for"
     the helpless,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't helpless.

"Then they came for"
     the homeless,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't homeless.

"Then they came for"
     the ignorant,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't ignorant.

"Then they came for"
     the unhealthy,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't unhealthy.

"Then they came for"
     the unemployed,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't unemployed.

"Then they came for"
     the immigrants,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't immigrants.

"Then they came for"
     the minorities, one by one,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't minorities,
               not any one of them.

"Then they came for"
     the LGBTQ,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't LGBTQ.

"Then they came for"
     the police,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't police.

"Then they came for"
     the Woke,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't Woke.

"Then they came for"
     the religious,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't religious.

"Then they came for"
     the white,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't white.

"Then they came for"
     the women, and then the men,
But not enough of us spoke up
     because
          we weren't either women or men.

"Then they came for"
     me,
And there was no one left
     to speak up for me.
Where will it end? I cried
     God forbid, not this!
          Not again!¹
 

¹Inspired by Martin Niemoller, "First
They Came For," 1946, shortly after
WWII; his personal reflection of how a
nation of people were able to turn a
blind eye to the atrocities being com-
mitted all around them...sadly, by the
time anyone spoke up, it was too late,
the dreadful deed was done